Definitions for "Baleen"
Keywords:  whalebone, whale, horny, keratin, jaw
Plates or blades of "whalebone," from two to twelve feet long, and sometimes a foot wide, which in certain whales (Balænoidea) are attached side by side along the upper jaw, and form a fringelike sieve by which the food is retained in the mouth.
a tough, horny material growing in comb like fringes from the upper jaws of some species of whales.
Fringed plates that hang from the upper jaws of baleen whales, such as the bowhead. They are designed to filter plankton from the water so the whale can eat.